Max is really enjoying what will definitely be his final year at SMA. He loves his teachers and has made new friends. One in particular shares the same interest in a very specific video game that Max is more than obsessed with. Nico has his best friend in his class. He is excited every single day he gets to go to school. Unlike last year when we had tears the first month or so of school, this year he walked right in and enjoys every second of his day. Belle is LOVING her class as well. It doesn't hurt that Mama is one of her teachers. She's the youngest one, but keeps up with the kiddos really well. She's already learning so much just by watching and interacting with them. As for me, I love my new job more than any other job I have EVER had (besides raising my own kids). It doesn't even matter that we've had a crier the entire day or that I have more messes to clean up than usual. It doesn't even matter that I get paint smudged on the side of my face and it stays there the whole day just because I have no time to clean myself. I just LOVE it! Being at the school where all of my kids are and getting to teach Belle is such a blessing. I can not even explain how awesome it feels to get this opportunity. 
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| I love being Soccer Mom! |
Max has started team soccer practices and had his very first game this morning! Although, the kids are still in the learning stages of the sport, they did very well! Max really liked playing offense! I am very proud of him. He hung in there and ran his little heart out. He's one of the smallest on the team, having just turned 5 and his teammates are 5-6 years old. 
Papa took on the role of assistant coach. 
I'm proud of him too. Soccer is a passion of his and now he gets to see it lived out through his kids. Not only that, he's taking an active role in it. I certainly had my hands full on the sidelines with Nico and Belle. Belle was such a doll! She would squeal with delight any time the crowd would clap and she would belt out a holler any time there were calls to cheer on the team. Nico on the other hand did not seem interested in watching the game. If you know Nico you would see that he truly believes he is the same age as his brother. Maybe he says that he's two (almost 3) and Max is five, but he doesn't really understand that there is any kind of difference there. Nico thinks he's just as big as Max and the other players so he doesn't get why he's not in a uniform and playing on the team. When I tried to explain it to him he told me "Then I'm a coach like Papa. I'm Coach Nico!" 
It was such a struggle keeping him from bolting out onto the field during the game to get to his Papa. I had my go-to survival stash of snacks, but when that started running low I thought I was in a jam. However, Fer had so cleverly stashed his iPod in the soccer bag. That got Nico's attention for a few minutes anyway. Then he polished off the rest of the snacks and the game was over. Success! Of course after the game he felt like he had accomplished something great too and took a team Gatorade and snack. Max passed so I guess his little brother just took care of that for him. There are no score keepers, but lets just say that if there were, just maybe our Lightning Bolts came out on top ;) We really welcomed the wonderful fall weather for his first game. Afterwards we had victory hamburgers and took a family trip to Lowes. Our next big family project is already well underway. We've decided to take on painting some rooms in the house. We've been here over six years and every now and then we feel the urge to spice things up. Although we do all of our home improvements and most maintenance ourselves, we really considered hiring someone to do the job this time just to give us a break. Well that idea went down the toilet when we woke up this morning and just decided today would be the day to make a move on our project list. We picked our paint colors, stocked up on the supplies we would need, headed home and Fer hit the ground running. As we speak he's just finished the kids' bathroom and taping off the upstairs hallway. It's a wonder what a little paint can do to give the place just the little change that it needs. Usually we trade off painting with child duties, but for some reason this time I've got out of the painting responsibilities this far. (Hooray!) Instead Max and Nico took their turns alongside their Papa for the beginning of the painting adventure. 
We always give them the opportunity to give our projects a try. When their turn was over, Fer handed them off to me to bathe them and get them going in other activities to keep them occupied. It is really difficult to keep them away from their Papa when he's home. I have such daddy's boys. While the boys were helping their Papa, I worked with Belle on her crawling. This past week, on Sept. 13 Isabel hit many milestones. It was incredible what all of a sudden she decided she could do. She pulled herself up first that day.
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| This is actually the first time she pulled herself up. I can't believe I actually caught a milestone on camera! |
Other than getting the new job started, preparing for school, "Meet the Teacher, the first few weeks of school, and adjusting to the new schedule, we've done several family activities that we've not blogged about. We've had the very first movie afternoon where all five of us were able to sit down together at one time and enjoy a movie! It hadn't happened before and it hasn't happened since.
We watched Thomas and the Great Discovery (I think Nico's choice), had Happy Hour Sonic drinks, and I made some delicious homemade popcorn with melted butter! Of course, Belle had to pass on the Sonic drinks and popcorn, but she was content with her agua and Cheerios. We've also enjoyed our final family swim of the summer.
Nico has mastered the back float and Max enjoys swimming around and blowing bubbles in the water. 
Belle loves to lounge in her floaty laying her head back and letting the sun shine on her face. Of course I do all I can to keep the shade of the floaty covering her, she wears her pink sun hat on her head, and she sports her super cool pink shades. 
We made a trip up to see Mema and Pops before Mema had her knee replacement surgery, and we've made another trip up since to visit. She's so amazing! She is well on her way to recovery. It is a lot of hard work, but she puts everything she has into it. She's been told she's ahead of the game, but I wouldn't expect anything less from my mom. She's a fighter and a super strong woman. I want to be just like her when I grow up! She's going to be running after her grandbabies before we know it. We will be trying to keep up with her once again.
We've also been very busy with the steady flow of orders coming into That's Sew Belle. Sewing has become such a wonderful part of my life. Being able to turn a hobby into a small home business is a dream come true. Please check out the tab at the top of our blog home page to see more.
